Nepali lawmakers submit signatures demanding voting

More than two-thirds of lawmakers in Nepal's Constituent Assembly Friday petitioned chairman Subhas Chandra Nembang to promulgate the country's new constitution through voting.

Lawmakers of ruling parties -- Nepali Congress, Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) and Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist), besides various fringe parties -- submitted to Nembang a petition signed by 413 members of the 601-seat unicameral body tasked with drafting a new constitution for Nepal, Xinhua reported.

The lawmakers' push to go for voting came at a time when Nepal's political parties have less than a week left to meet the stipulated Jan 22 deadline for drafting the new statute.

Nepali Congress lawmaker Gagan Thapa said they have submitted 413 signatures to the Constituent Assembly chairman, as there were very slim chances for promulgating the new statute through consensus.

"We are hopeful that it will put pressure on other parties to promulgate the new statute before Jan 22," he said.

Opposition and ruling parties of Nepal remain at loggerheads over key contentious issues, concerning the new constitution as even the self-imposed deadline is fast approaching.

However, the ruling parties maintain that they would continue to make efforts to come up with the first draft of the new statute.